Making a Choctaw arrow

Iti
Fabvssa﻿

Previous editions of Iti Fabvssa have presented
information about the Choctaw bow and arrow in action (1/10),
Choctaw "arrowheads" (7/11), and the process for making a
traditional Choctaw bow (10/10). The next two editions of Iti
Fabvssa will add to these previous articles by focusing in depth on
Choctaw arrows and how to make them.

As many readers can probably already surmise, a
traditional Choctaw arrow is a lot more than just a stick with
feathers tied on one end. The traditional arrow is part of a
complex weapon that also includes the bow and bow string. All three
must be finely tuned to each other to work effectively. To produce
an accurate shot, the arrow itself must have the correct length and
stiffness for the particular bow that it is fired from; the arrow
must be the right weight, and this weight must be properly balanced
to keep it from tumbling; the arrow must have the correct
aerodynamics to fly straight; and the tip must be properly suited
to its intended function. A traditional arrow is a deadly weapon,
no question about it, but it is also very much a piece of art.

In the Choctaw language, an arrow is known as "oski
naki," or iti naki." The first term translating literally as "cane
projectile" is used if the arrow shaft is made from river cane. The
second term, translating as "wooden projectile," is used if the
shaft is made from any type of wood. Traditional Choctaw arrows are
made in several different types, depending on their intended uses.
The most common types include arrows for war/hunting large game,
for hunting small game, and for bow-fishing.

Choctaw archers of the past used the same type of
arrows both for war and for hunting large animals. Today some
Choctaws still use them for hunting deer. These arrows are long and
heavy. Usually, their arrowheads have sharp edges, designed for
creating a bleeding wound in anything unfortunate enough to be hit
by one. Contrary to Hollywood movies, it is usually not possible to
pick up a random war arrow and know what tribe made it. However, it
is often possible to tell what region of the country a traditional
arrow comes from. This is the case with five of the earliest
surviving war arrows from the Southeast (Fig. 1). Currently housed
at the Peabody Museum on the Harvard University campus, they were
collected in Georgia before 1828 (note-Georgia Territory included
what is now Mississippi and Alabama until 1796). These very
well-made arrows are probably either Choctaw or Creek in origin.
Their shafts are made from hardwood shoots from a bush or tree
sapling. The arrows are fletched with three turkey wing feathers
that have been split and trimmed. The quills of these feathers were
glued down to the arrow shaft along their lengths, and their ends
were wrapped in animal tendon covered in glue. The large points of
these arrows are made of carefully shaped deer antler. The arrows
are painted in red and black, colors that Choctaw traditional
thought associates with war and death.

Figure 1 Deadly Southeastern war arrows.

A different type of Choctaw big game war
arrow is in the collection of the Red River Museum in Idabel (Fig
2a). This arrow is made from a straightened piece of river cane. It
has no fletchings at all. The arrow tip is made from a rolled piece
of metal. Rolled metal points, like the one on this arrow, are
known on Choctaw sites dating back to the 1730s. Arrows of this
general description were being used by some Mississippi Choctaws
until at least 1900 (Fig 2b), and by some Oklahoma Choctaw hunters
into the mid-1900s. The unfletched arrow is a deadly weapon at
close range, but generally not as accurate for
distance-shooting.

Figure 2 Three Choctaw cane arrows with rolled metal points.
"A" is from Oklahoma, "B" and "C" are from Mississippi.

Some of the Choctaw arrows intended for small-game
hunting have wide, blunt tips. These heavy, blunt-tipped arrows
strike an animal with a lot of force and stun it, but do not
puncture the skin. Such an arrow is preferable in skunk-hunting, to
a sharp-tipped arrow, which might penetrate the animal's scent
glands. In squirrel hunting, the blunt arrow can also be
preferable, because it is less likely to get stuck in a branch at
the top of the tree. Blunt arrows have also often been used in bird
hunting. An Oklahoma Choctaw blunt arrow from a family collection
appears to be made from a dogwood sapling (Fig. 3).

Figure 3 Choctaw blunt arrow from a family collection.

A different type of arrow was often made for
bow-fishing. Two quivers of fishing arrows, collected at Fort
Washita in the 1850s, are housed at the Oklahoma History Center in
Oklahoma City. Although labeled as Chickasaw, these arrows (Fig.
4a), are probably very similar to some of the fishing arrows made
by Choctaw people at that time. The shafts of these arrows are made
from lightweight plant shoots that have a pithy center. The arrow
tips, carved from hardwood, have multiple points and deep barbs.
This design makes it difficult for the arrow to come out of the
fish, and can aid in pulling it out of the water. Another style of
Choctaw fishing arrow is housed at the National Museum of the
American Indian SRC in Suitland, Maryland.. This arrow (Fig. 4b),
from Mississippi, has a river cane shaft, a metal point, and a thin
string attached to the shaft and wrapped around it. This string was
probably used to help retrieve the arrow and fish out of the
water.

Please stay tuned for next month's edition of Iti
Fabvssa, which will present the traditional process for making a
Choctaw war arrow with stone tools. If you have any questions
concerning Choctaw history or culture, please mail to Iti Fabvssa
c/o BISKINIK, P.O. Box 1210, Durant, OK 74702, or e-mail to biskinik@choctawnation.com
with "Iti Fabvssa" in the subject line.

This article and others came from the Choctaw Nation
Biskinik. To see more history please refer to the following
sites.